New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday said in a tweet that the Indian economy is in recession for the first time under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
His tweet comes after data showed India's gross domestic product or GDP decreased by 7.5% in the July-September quarter after the economy shrank by a record of 23.9% in the last quarter.
"Under PM Modi, India's economy is officially in a recession for the first time ever," he said on Twitter.
"More importantly, 3 crore people are still looking for work under MNREGA. Economy cannot be ordered to grow by diktats. PM needs to first understand his basic idea," he added.
With the ongoing COVID-19 lockdown, India's GDP had decreased by a record of 23.9% in the first quarter of 2020-21 fiscal (April 2020 to March 2021). The GDP contraction of 7.5% in July-September compares with a growth of 4.4% in the same quarter last year.
However, going back to 1996 GDP record, there is hope of sharp recovery before the end of the fiscal year from the 7.5% contraction this year which pushed India into its first technical recession since Independence.